OXFORD University will ban intimate relationships between academics and students that they teach.
It comes after the student watchdog said universities should threaten lecturers with the sack if they do not register relationships with students, under new rules it is drawing up. The Office for Students (OfS) said it had considered recommending that universities ban relationships between staff and students.
Oxford University said on Monday that from April 17, staff who have any responsibility for a current student — including applicants — will be prohibited from entering into an intimate relationship with that person.
It said staff would be strongly discouraged from any other close personal relationship with students “which transgresses the boundaries of professional conduct”. This includes students having any emotional, practical or financial dependence on academics.
Staff who fail to comply with this policy would face the university’s disciplinary procedures.
Comments are closed.